save me
by gedembol
Summary: he loves her. she fears him. they were ganged up together during a deadly mission. will they ever get their 'real' feelings out when one becomes a victim of the notorious orochimaru? involvement of team gai and kurenai! nejihina
1. collision

**summary:** its actually a nejihina fanfic filled with action and adventure! the only difference is that this has orochimaru, team gai and team kurenai involvement in it! and ofcourse, touches of romance will be included!

**Save me**

Chap 1: collision

"Hinata, watch out!" kiba warned his teammate. She hurriedly swooped out her kunai knifes and flung it directly towards the oncoming attackers. Akamaru joined forces with its master, and along with his other comrade, shino, and installed their final attack onto the enemies.

Blood gushed out profusely from the injured bodies of the enemies as kiba and akamaru performed their **Gatsuga**. Shino simply stood by his **Mushi Bunshin no jutsu** as they attacked the enemies. Hinata, on the other hand, used a combination of her **taijutsu** and **byakugan** to beat the living daylights out of her attackers.

As the final enemy breathed his last air, kurenai-sensei stood up on her feet and walked towards her beloved students.

"Well done guys. Looks like this mission's finished." Kurenai-sensei exclaimed contentedly.

"Damn! That was tiring! Argh! Kurenai-sensei, why didn't you help us out just now? You lazy old woman!" kiba cried loudly, mocking at his sensei.

"What did you say, you little twerp?" kurenai asked her student, a darkened atmosphere looming over her as she stared into her pupil's eyes with a devilish smile formed by her lips.

"Idiot, you used too much of your chakra when you combined forces with akamaru just now…" shino stated in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Oh great, bug freak's gonna mess with me now does he?" asked kiba angrily. Akamaru barked noisily in defense for his master.

"I've no time to _'mess'_ with you. Look up." Exclaimed shino flatly as he directed his head towards the sky. Hinata and kiba looked up and saw a figure flying towards them. It was a 'messenger' hawk. Kurenai-sensei welcomed its arrival and took the message scroll from its holder and thanked the kunoichi creature.

"Well? What did the letter say?" kiba asked his teacher impatiently.

"Looks like we'll be going to **Oto no Kuni**. It says here we'll be there to join forces with…oh my, we'll be joining forces with team Gai. Apparently, they're there on a mission to find out who the hell had murdered a whole village…without leaving a trace." Finished kurenai-sensei.

"Why does team Gai need our help?" shino asked.

"Hehe. Of course they need our help! With our excellent tracking skills, we'll find that damn murderer in no time!" exclaimed kiba proudly.

Kurenai converted her view from the scroll and watched her female student. Hinata froze in her tracks. She stared down onto the bloodied ground, completely immersed in her thoughts. Kurenai noticed this and gently placed her hand onto her student's trembling shoulder. Hinata looked up and saw her sensei's encouraging smile.

"Don't worry. The guys and I will be by your side. We won't even let _'him'_ lay a finger on you." Exclaimed kurenai-sensei protectively.

"Eh? No…no. it's not like that…erm… I…I…erm…" hinata tried her best to explain to her teacher but it seemed that she was tongue tied. She blushed at the sight of her teacher laughing at her bashfulness.

"It's alright hinata. If you're not ready to tell me, then don't." answered kurenai-sensei kindly as she released her hand from hinata's shoulder. Hinata looked up and saw understanding expressed from her teacher's emerald red eyes.

"Alright guys! Let's pack up and set foot towards **Oto no kuni**!" ordered kurenai-sensei excitedly.

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They jumped from one tree to the next tree speedily. Hinata could feel the cold air of the afternoon brushed against her face she moved along with her teammates and teacher. They had now entered into the land of sound and were heading towards a village where another team will be anticipating their arrival.

Hinata felt her heartbeat racing rapidly as they neared their destination. She felt unsure whether to feel excited or depressed at the thought of meeting _him_ after their last encounter. It had already been a year since they saw each. What's worse, with the current _'entanglement'_ between them, it made hinata uneasy each time she saw him.

_"No! I must be strong! I shall not and will not let my…emotions for him hinder our mission!" hinata encouraged herself inwardly._ When they finally arrived to their destination, the scenery that greeted them was startling. Kurenai-sensei, kiba, shino and hinata were horrified.

The atmosphere of the village was dead and silent. The smell of the air hovering within it was filled with blood and decomposition of rotten bodies. The ground they stepped on was pooled with the blood of the victims.

"I think I'm gonna throw up…ugh." said kiba weakly, trying desperately to hold in his vomit as he silently cursed his dog super sensory nose. He just can't withstand the smell of blood.

"Okay guys. We can't just stand here and waste anymore time. Kiba and akamaru, you two will go west. Shino, you'll go east. Hinata, you'll be investigating the northern area and I'll search for Gai's team. We'll meet back here in an hour." Kurenai-sensei instructed her students before making her move.

"Okay guys, if you find anything that might be a potential contributor to this brutal massacre, if possible, bring it back. Maybe from there we'll be able to investigate further with any physical evidence." Kiba stated affirmatively before making his move.

"Hinata-san, take this bug with you." Shino extended his hand towards hinata and placed a small beetle-like insect into her palm. Hinata looked at her teammate with wonder in her eyes.

"It'll be like a 'messenger'. It'll fly to me when you're in need of help or any kind of… assistance." shino explained to hinata.

"Hai. Thank you shino-san." replied hinata kindly. A small smile curled by her lips. _Shino was always like that with her. Even though they seldom talk, shino was always most protective of her, just like kiba was._ He quietly yet swiftly took off from the area and moved towards the opposite direction of kiba's.

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Hinata moved rapidly among the empty houses and investigated them. She reluctantly entered each house and thoroughly scanned the rooms and things in search for any possible clues but there was none. As she was walking to the next house, she heard the sound of footsteps trailing behind her. Hinata hastily hid herself from visible view.

"Byakugan" hinata whispered as she performed the hand seal and activating her bloodline limit. Hinata scanned her surrounding but there weren't any signs of any living being.

"What are you doing hiding there?" a familiar voice asked her.

Hinata looked up in surprise. What greeted her made her heart pumped blood straight into her face and heat rising into her ears. He was crouching upside down on the ceiling as he examined her from head to toe through his lavender eyes before releasing his foot and effortlessly landing right in front of her.

"Ne…neji-niisan!" hinata gasped.

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_**gedembol's notes:** hello everyone! i'm back and i've got my latest fanfic! i've been cracking my head for this one but it was fun trying to put the characters into action. i've finally added kurenai-sensei, shino and kiba into this fanfic. dont worry.. gai's team will come up in later chapters! anyway, enjoy the read._


	2. cooperation

Save me

Chap 2: cooperation

He noiselessly landed onto the floorboards. Hinata watched wide-eyed at her cousin as he slowly stood up right in front her. His hair swaying smoothly as he turned his head to face her. He was a head taller than she was now and hinata had to lift her head up to look into his face.

"What…what are you doing here?" asked hinata nervously. She felt her whole body tremble from his presence. Surprisingly, her heart was racing rapidly within its ribcage and she felt her face flushing.

"Nevermind about that. What matters is that you're here. Gai-sensei had sent me to look for your team. He and the others are waiting at the camp." Exclaimed neji flatly. He converted his gaze from her figure to the outside of the wrecked house.

"What happened here was horrendous. The villagers were mercilessly massacred." Neji stated unemotionally as he slowly walked out of the adobe. Hinata hurriedly followed him out when he halted at the door, silently indicating her that they both should leave.

"Ano…neji-niisan, I've got to report back to kurenai-sensei and the others in fifteen minutes" hinata informed her cousin anxiously.

"I'll follow you." Neji responded instantly.

"_Why? Why of all people, must I run into him! I'm so embarrassed. He's going to think low of me for not even realizing his presence in the house just now. Kyaa!" cried hinata inwardly._

As they were walking along the destroyed houses, hinata caught glimpses of the dead bodies of innocent villagers. She felt pity and sadness crawling into her aching heart with each body count. The fear of death kept clawing its way into her mind which caused her to flinch inwardly.

All of a sudden, hinata saw his huge pale hand shielding her vision from those terrible views. He gently placed his hands onto her eyelids and held one of her hands with his as they continued walking.

"Don't look at that hinata-sama." neji advised her with an anger filled tone. Hinata remained silent.

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Night arrived and the atmosphere at their camp was friendly. Gai-sensei and lee welcomed their fellow comrades with open arms and tenten greeted them with her usual 'friendly yet feisty' attitude. As for neji, he simply acknowledged the others with a silent stare.

They had set up the tents and campfire and were now cooking dinner. Once the food was ready, they gladly dug into their bowls and shared information that they had gathered so far. Kiba was minding his own business and happily tossing food into akamaru's mouth. Shino ate his dinner in silent while Tenten busily stuffed food into lee's throat… with the food that she had cooked…

"Imagine the torture that lee-kun's feeling right now." Kiba whispered to shino as a huge amused grin crawled along his lips. Hinata turned her gaze towards the couple opposite of them. She couldn't help but felt pity for lee-kun but also a little amused by tenten's daring display of affection for her teammate. It was humorous.

"What torture?" tenten hurriedly turned her head towards kiba as a huge cloud of darkness loomed over her. Kiba, akamaru and hinata felt shivers crawling down their spines at the creepy smile that tenten displayed towards kiba's comment.

"Are you trying to say something?" tenten asked kiba.

"Oh, no no...Hehehe" answered kiba hurriedly as sweats trickled down his face profusely.

"He's saying that your cooking is really distasteful." Shino interrupted. Kiba froze in his tracks.

Tenten automatically extended her arm and grabbed kiba's hood. Once she clutched onto him, she mercilessly stuffed both lee's and kiba's throat with her 'magnificent' dishes…the torture…

Hinata let out a soft giggle as she watched the comedic commotion. She slowly converted her gaze from the hullabaloo and towards the figure sitting quietly next to it. Hinata's face reddened to a red tomato the moment their eyes met. She stood up, hoping that no one will notice her exit, and secretly walked away from the campfire.

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Neji noiselessly trailed behind his cousin and attentively watched her every movement. Hinata had decided to take a breather after she finished washing her plate and cutleries. She gently rested her aching back against the trunk of a huge tree and closed her eyes.

Once her spiritual defense was decreased, neji silently walked towards hinata. He gazed into her pale oval face from above and admired her through his pearl-colored eyes. Neji wondered hard why the hell naruto couldn't see the beauty that radiated from the young kunoichi.

"Hinata-sama, wake up. We've gotta get you back to camp." Neji said softly as he gently shook his cousin awake.

"Eh? Ne…neji-niisan? Oh, sorry…I fell asleep…" exclaimed hinata nervously.

Neji gently lifted hinata by her hand after she had taken her plate. Out of nowhere, a small shuriken slashed through between them.

"Don't touch hinata." Shino warned neji frostily as he made is way towards hinata until a respectable distance. Both hyuugas were startled. Neji automatically distanced himself from the female chuunin and moved towards shino's direction. Neji halted once they were standing abreast each other.

"Don't tell me what to do aburame. Let me remind you that what happens between me and hinata-sama is none of your business." Neji said impassively.

"Your words are meaningless to me. It is my duty to protect her from the things she feels most uncomfortable with. Kiba and I will do anything in our power to protect her…especially from you." Shino explained himself in a tone that hinted anger and resentment.

Hinata was shocked. She was so terrified that she remained rooted to the ground. She unwillingly watched her two comrades staring into each other eyes with hatred. She felt troubled and depressed by the thought that she was the main cause of their silent argument. Hinata felt warm tears streaming down her flushed cheeks as the 'self hating' feeling grew within her.

Neji wanted to run to her aid but shino beat him to it. Shino carefully took out a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and offered it to hinata. By then, neji had fled the area.

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"Hinata-san, are you alright?" shino asked her with concern in his tone.

"Hai…hai, I'm alright. Thank you shino-kun" she lied as she pressed the handkerchief harder onto her tear filled eyes and hiding the fact that she didn't want neji to get hurt like that because of her. It didn't take her long to finally resume to her usual composure. Shino turned himself away from her and walked ahead while hinata followed behind.

"You really shouldn't do that hinata-san." shino began.

"Eh? Do what shino-kun?" hinata asked him vacantly.

"Leaving the campsite all alone." Exclaimed shino apprehensively.

Hinata was speechless. Shino was right. She shouldn't have left the campsite. It was totally uncalled for but at that point of time, she wanted so desperately to be away from her cousin. It was just basic respond for hinata to run away from the things she feared…or felt 'uncomfortable' with.

"I'm sorry" hinata said apologetically.

"It's alright but if that cousin of yours even dares to lay a hand on you ever again, I'll…"

"Yamette shino-kun! Neji-niisan is my family…don't hurt him. If you hurt him, you'll be hurting me too." Hinata stated in the most protective way shino has ever heard.

There was silence in the atmosphere surrounding them. Shino was definitely surprise by the way she had said that sentence to him. It wasn't like hinata to be so affirmative and defensive about things. The way she had stated and sounded the sentence made shino a little curious too. He stared at her hands that were trembling as they clutched his sleeve.

"I understand…so you've forgiven him then?" shino asked softly as he moved his gaze from his sleeve to her face. Hinata nodded her head resolutely as a respond to his question.

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They returned from the riverside and found that both lee and kiba were lying flat on their backs with their faces looking terribly pale. Right on the other side of the camp was tenten carrying her cooking pot and hastily chasing akamaru…

Hinata hurriedly ran towards the two lying bodies and kneeled right beside her captain. Shino simply watched him from above.

"Kiba-kun? Lee-kun? Are you guys alright?" she asked them worriedly.

"Oh, it's you hinata-san. Yeah…we're totally alright. Don't…don't worry about…ugh…" said lee caringly as he gave her a weak grin.

"No we're not alright lee! Stop acting like some tough guy, you mushroom top...ugh…run akamaru…run…ugh…"

"What happened?" shino asked in his usual cool tone.

"Damn you bug freak…its all because of you that I'm like this…ugh…oh the pain. The pain…"

"Don't worry my dear comrade. The pain will go away in three or four days…we can endure this…together you and me will overcome this…ugh…pain…oh, the things I do for…ugh…love"

"Love?...my foot…" exclaimed kiba mockingly before blacking out after lee.

"idiots…" stated shino coolly.

Apparently, both guys had puked their food out once tenten turned her attention away from them and trying so eagerly to pursue akamaru-san and forcing him to taste her cooking. Fortunately for them, hinata was around to nurse them back to health. Both kurenai-sensei and gai-sensei watched them from the corner of their eyes as they halted from their private conversation. Both laughed inwardly at the excitement emerging from the silly group. Neji simply watched in silence.

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"Hinata, why didn't you tell me earlier on about the relationship you had with him?" kurenai-sensei asked her student in a low whisper.

"I'm sorry kurenai-sensei…I tried to but…but when you said that you and the others will protect me from him, I felt confused…and I couldn't come up with a specific respond…I do not hate nor do I like him…" hinata respond timidly.

"Hinata…but it just seems…unfair. You should have the right to oppose to this…to this nonsense." Kurenai-sensei exclaimed with a soft tone that hovered anger.

"I'm doing it for the honor of the family…and for him…once the families unify, the seal will be taken away from him…" hinata stated sensitively as a faint smile curled along her pale lips.

Kurenai-sensei gazed at the trembling figure standing before her. She saw the teenager's tears streaming down her flushed cheeks and steadily landed onto the barks of the old tree trunk.

To kurenai yuuhi, hinata was a nice student. She was alright for her standards but there was something that differentiated her from most of the female chuunins around her. Hinata was too soft to be a ninja. Unlike most kunoichi, she was never the kind that resolved to violence and because of this; kurenai yuuhi had always protected her beloved student from things that wanted to destroy her. Unhappily, one of those 'things' was hinata's family…

"I'm sorry kurenai-sensei but I'll return back to camp now. Kiba-kun, akamaru-kun and shino-kun will be worried if they find out I've been gone." Hinata said anxiously. She nervously bowed down before her teacher before setting off back to their camp.

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Shino was silently standing above on the trunk of the tree as his eyes scanned the area through his dark shaded spectacles. He quietly yet alertly witnessed a small figure moving sneakily into their tent. Shino let out a soundless sigh. He stuck out his hand and waited for the beetle to land. Once it did, shino listened to it attentively.

"So…that's why she's so protective of him…" exclaimed shino inwardly. He swiftly hid the messenger away when he felt another jonin's aura approached him.

"The northern and western areas are both clear. No sign of anybody." Neji confirmed.

"Same goes for the east and south but stay on guard incase something unexpected comes on." Shino advised his partner flatly. Unfortunately, neji and shino had been given the task of guarding the campsite for the night, considering the 'argument' they had previously.

Neji silently agreed and sat a room away from shino.

"I apologize for my behavior earlier on."

Neji turned his head towards the aburame heir attentively but remained voiceless. Neji stared at shino with his pearl-colored eyes and watched the figure standing up and unconsciously staring at the bright crest moon. Neji mutely converted his head to face his cousin's comrade.

"Hinata has better judgment than the rest of us, in terms of the heart, and because of that, I'm honored to have her as a friend. She sees importance in you. If my teammate can forgive you for the past, I'll be obliged to follow her." exclaimed shino in a matter-of-fact way.

Neji stood up before shino and looked at him with the pearl-colored eyes of his.


End file.
